Visma hit with double blow as Axel Zingle abandons Vuelta a Espana 2025

Team Visma | Lease a Bike woke up to double bad news on the morning of stage three of the Vuelta a España 2025. Not only did the squad confirm the overnight theft of several of their bikes after thieves broke into the mechanics’ truck, but they also lost Axel Zingle, who was forced to abandon his debut Grand Tour. The French rider had been involved in the same mass crash that brought down Jonas Vingegaard on stage two, though while the Dane went on to win, Zingle’s injuries have ended his race.

Zingle dislocated his shoulder during the incident but remarkably popped it back into place himself before remounting and continuing. Incredibly, the same injury happened again later in the stage, and although Zingle managed to cross the finish line, he was ruled unfit to continue by team doctors the following morning. “Our medical staff has decided that Axel is not fit enough to continue the Vuelta. His first Grand Tour has come to an early end,” the team confirmed in a statement. Zingle had remained hopeful on Sunday evening, saying, “We’ll see, but the intention is to just keep riding,” but his determination wasn’t enough to outweigh medical concerns.

As if that were not enough, Visma also faces the headache of replacing nearly all of their stolen race bikes. The burglary, which occurred during the night in Italy, has placed significant pressure on the team’s logistics. With their star rider Vingegaard now in red, the squad must resolve the equipment shortage swiftly to ensure their campaign for the overall title is not derailed.

Movistar Team also suffered a cruel blow ahead of stage three, confirming the withdrawal of Jorge Arcas. The Spaniard crashed heavily on Sunday’s second stage, managing to finish, but post-race scans revealed a fracture in the upper part of the greater trochanter of his left femur. It leaves the team with just seven riders to tackle the remaining 19 stages of La Vuelta.

For Movistar, this setback is only the latest in a season plagued by injuries. The squad had already been forced to change its plans after leader Enric Mas was ruled out until 2026 following a knee injury sustained at the Tour de France. Sports director Chente García Acosta explained on RTVE how the team has reshaped its goals: “It's a bit strange not to have Enric, who has always been there, who has always done great Vuelta races, but we've had the chance with Enric and we've tried to use the best we had. We've left Nelson Oliveira at home, who is an essential support rider for Enric, and we've brought other riders who, with the way we're going to ride, we're going to try to get into breakaways and see if we can get some victories.” He added: “We're going to see how we go day by day, there are 21 stages but for us they are 21 classics, we're going to go day by day.”

For Arcas, this marks his second career abandonment in a Grand Tour, both of them in the Vuelta. Having reached the start of his sixth edition this year, he had previously only abandoned once before, in 2017 on stage twelve in Antequera. His absence, coupled with the earlier loss of Mas, underlines Movistar’s misfortune as they now head into the heart of the race focusing solely on stage wins rather than general classification ambitions.